Gyrocopter Training Manual
You and Your Gyrocopter: What to know In this manual, you will learn the basics of piloting your gyrocopter, which include: Proper pilot attire and ,basic maintenance, basic flight, emergencies, and finally, defining parts of your aircraft and basic flight terminology. Chapter 1: What to wear Before you even take off, you must be fully prepared for anything you may encounter during flight, which is why proper clothing is essential for any successful pilot. Keeping this in mind, let's start with headgear. A full face mask with goggles included is optimal, as it provides full protection against any debris or environmental factors that you may encounter during flight. At the bare minimum, however, a simple pair of scratch-resistant goggles will provide proper protection to the eyes and help with visibility. Moving on from headgear, we will next cover clothing. Since you want to have as little weight as possible, while having staying as warm and safe as you can, leather attire is recommended, with added layers of cloth for warmth depending upon where you may be flying. If you are going to be flying in dangerous areas or even war zones, leather or light mail is recommended, however heavier mail or plate armor will increase survival chances, as well as increase fuel consumption. Before every flight, it is up to you to ensure that your gyrocopter is in a fully operational and safe condition, so there are a few things that you must check to ensure a safe flight. # Always check your engines! You must ensure that all engines are in proper, working condition. # Main rotor. The second thing to check is the main rotor of your gyrocopter, ensuring the integrity of the rotors themselves and they are properly affixed to your copter. # Fuel. This is another important one, because you definitely need fuel to even get off the ground! # Always insure the integrity of the shell of your copter before flying. Check for any loose nuts or bolts and make sure all exterior plating is in place. Chapter 3: Basic maintenance; post-flight After every flight, it is essential that you check over your copter to make sure that it is safe for storage and ready for its next flight. In doing so, you must follow the same checklist as you did before flying, making note of the date and time of your flight and any maintenance that needs to be done. Chapter 4: Basic flight; take off So you've completed your pre-flight checklist and are now ready to get airborne. The first thing you must do is turn on your engines. When turning on your engines, it is important that you do not attempt to start them all at once. In a gyrocopter, all three engines draw from the same power source, and if you attempt to start all three at once, it will kill the primary power source and you will have to do an entire systems reboot. When starting engines, you will first engage your left and right secondary engines, keeping your primary rotor off until the secondaries are running. After your secondary engines are on, and your primary rotor is running, you will then be able to turn your secondaries vertical and begin to ascend. Once you have cleared fifty feet from the ground, you can then turn your secondaries horizontal and increase power to your primary rotor to continue ascension. If you wish to increase your altitude at a faster rate, you may angle your nose upwards to around 45 degrees and increase power to secondary engines. Chapter 5: Basic flight; landing When landing, the most important thing to consider is the terrain you are attempting to land on. You need a flat, clear space in order to perform a safe landing. Once you are over your desired landing zone, you need to turn your secondary engines into their vertical position and begin to slowly decrease power in the primary rotor to allow for a slow, safe descent. Once you are descending at a safe speed, you want to maintain steady power to your engines, increasing power slightly as you near the ground to slow your descent. Once your skids both are on the ground, you are free to turn off your engines and do your post-flight maintenance. Chapter 6: Emergencies All standard commercial and military gyrocopters come with a built in ejection system. If your copter has this ejection system, you must be wearing your seat belts for this to work safely. The ejection systems can be activated by pulling firmly on both drawstrings beneath your seat. This will detach your primary rotor, sending it flying upwards and away from your copter. Upon the primary rotor being detached, your seat will be ejected upwards, deploying your parachute. If ejection is not an option, you can attempt an emergency landing. To perform an emergency landing, you will initially want to angle your nose downwards to decrease your altitude. Once you reach approx. three hundred feet from the ground, you will want to angle your nose upwards to begin to slow yourself down. Repeat these steps as you get closer to the ground, in small increments. As you are getting closer to the ground, you will want to attempt to flatten out if your speed will allow it, and brace for impact. Chapter 7: Terminology Aileron- ' Movable areas of a wing that control or affect the roll of an aircraft by working opposite of one another. I.E. Up-aileron on the right wing and down-aileron on the left wing. '''Airfoil-' The shape of a wing when looking at its profile, generally a teardrop shape on a fixed-wing craft. 'Airframe- '''The fuselage, booms, nacelles, cowlings, fairings, and airfoil surfaces of an aircraft. '''Airspeed- '''The speed of an aircraft relative to its surrounding air mass. '''Altimeter- '''An onboard instrument which senses air pressure to gauge altitude. '''Altitude-' Height of an aircraft, usually in respect to the terrain below. 'Attitude- '''The primary aircraft angles; pitch, roll, and yaw '''Attitude Indicator- '''A vaccuum-powered instrument that displays pitch and rollmovement about the lateral and longitudinal axes. ' Auto-rotation- 'A gyrocopter flight condition in which the primary lifting rotor is driven entirely by the action of the air when the copter is in motion. '''Crabbing -' A rudder-controlled yawing motion to compensate for a crosswind to maintain a desired flight path. 'Deadstick-' Descending flight with engines and propellers stopped. 'Departure Stall-' A stall in the takeoff configuration with power. 'Directional Gyro- '''A panel instrument providing a gyroscopic reading of the craft's compass heading. '''Drag- ' The resistance force exerted on an aircraft in the opposite direction of its motion. 'Dry Weight- '''The weight of an engine, exclusive of any fuel, coolant, or oil. '''Elevator-' The movable part of a horizontal airfoil that controls the pitch of an aircraft, the fixed part being the stabilizer. 'ETA-' Estimated Time of Arrival 'Flap-'''A movable, hinged airfoil set on the trailing edge of a wing, designed to increase lift or drag of an aircraft. '''Flight Envelope-' An aircraft's performance limits which cannot be safely exceeded, which includes speed limitations and speed of curves. 'Fuselage-' The main body of an aircraft, which will usually house the crew and cargo. Wings, and tail are attached to the fuselage. 'Gross Weight-' Total weight of an aircraft when fully loaded. 'Ground Speed-' Actual speed of an aircraft, also referred to as "Shadow Speed". 'Knot-' One nautical mile, about 1.15 statute miles. 'Lift-' The force exerted on the top of a moving airfoil that causes a wingform to rise. 'Pitch-' One of the three axes that specifies the vertical, up-and-down movement. 'Roll- ' One of the three axes that specifies the action around a central point. 'Rudder- '''The moveable part of a vertical airfoil which controls the yaw of an aircraft, the fixed part is the fin. '''Sinking Speed-' The speed at which an aircraft loses altitude. 'Skid-' Too shallow a bank in a turn, causing an aircraft to slide outward from its ideal turning bath. '''Slip- Too steep of a bank in a turn, which causes an aircraft to slide inward from its ideal turning path. 'Stabilizer-' The fixed part of a horizontal airfoil. 'Stall-' A maneuver initiated by the steep raising of an aircraft's nose, which results in the loss of velocity and an abrupt drop. 'Thrust-' Driving force of a propeller, opposite of drag. 'Torque-' A twisting, gyroscopic force acting in opposition to an axis of rotation, such as a turning propeller; aka torsion. 'Useful Load-' The weight of crew, fuel, and ballast, generally excludes emergency or portable equipment and ordinance. 'Yaw- '''One of the three axes that specifies the side-to-side movement of an acraft, as in skewing. '''Yoke-' The control wheel of an aircraft. Category:Documents Category:Military Documents Category:Engineering